Updated 7:06 am, Tuesday, June 26, 2012

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Self-identified thieves set off the security alarm in Cole's Woodwind Shop late Sunday, but owner Bill Cole remains in harmony with the neighbor that caused the incident.

A gypsy jazz quartet played Sunday night at Caffe Lena, the storied coffeehouse located upstairs from Cole's shop at 47 Phila St. in downtown Saratoga.

"For their encore they unplugged, stood in the middle of the floor, gathered the entire audience in tight and did an a cappella number that involved unison stomping ... (which) set off the alarm," Caffe Lena's director, Sarah Craig, said in an email to Cole.

The name of the band: Caravan of Thieves.

"The stage is right above where my saxophones are displayed," said Cole, who moved his shop to Phila Street in June 2011 after six years on Broadway. "Every once in a while, somebody stomping sets off the alarm."

It's happened once before, during a raucous open-mic night last year, and Cole had to drive to the Spa City from his home in Lake George. On Sunday night, he was initially notified by the alarm company but never received a call from police telling him his presence was required. The email from Craig later Sunday night reassured him that music was being made, not mischief.

"After I moved in I had a few pictures fall off the wall because of whatever was going on upstairs, but I've secured them pretty good," says Cole.

He hasn't asked for less stomping. "I'm privileged to be downstairs from Caffe Lena," he said. "It's such a cool place."

Although Cole has repaired instruments for 35 years, he is not a musician and has never performed at Caffe Lena.

However, his son Billy Cole, a 21-year-old drummer, has played there on open-mic nights. He did not set off the alarm.